Beading for finishing structural edges



June 4, 1963 H. A. COOK, JR

BEADING FOR FINISHING STRUCTURAL EDGES 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 30,1960 Fig. 4 VINVENTOR.

HERBERT A. 000K JR.

1,, Slaw HIS ATTORNEYS June 4, 1963 H. A. cooK, JR

BEADING FOR FINISHING STRUCTURAL EDGES Filed March 30. 1960 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Am K w W0 A m E B m H Fig. IO $4M HIS ATTORNEYS June 4,1963 H. A. cooK, JR

BEADING FOR FINISHING STRUCTURAL EDGES 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 30.1960 INVENTOR. HERBERT A. COOK JR.

HIS ATTORNEYS United States 3,091,821 READING FOR FINISHING STRUCTURALEDGES Herbert A. Cook, Jr., Auburn, N.Y., assignor to The SchlegelManufacturing Company, Rochester, N.Y., a corporation of New York FiledMar. 30, 1960, Ser. No. 18,650 1 Claim. (Cl. 20-74) This inventionrelates to headings or moldings for finishing or garnishing structuraledges, such for example as the projecting edges of interior plates orpanels of automobile bodies, one object of the invention being toprovide an improved heading of this character capable of being morereadily applied and of adhering more tenaciously to the structural edgeto be finished.

Another object is the provision of such a heading having an extremelyflexible construction capable of being bent and twisted to fit paneledges of irregular shape.

Another object is to supply a heading having an adjustable type ofconstruction adapted to be readily adjusted in size to fit structuraledges of varying thickness.

A further object is to provide a beading of smaller size, thinner edges,smoother finish and with a spring tensioned grip on the panel or otherstructural edge.

Still a further object is the provision of a finish beading having theabove advantagesin a construction capable also of being readily andeconomically manufactured.

To these and other ends the invention resides in certain improvementsand combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fullydescribed, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the endof the specification.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of a headingcomprising the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a wire fabric supporting stripused therein;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view showing the supporting strip laid on tape andouter or facing strips for covering the same;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3, but showing the marginal edges ofthe tape and facing strips folded over the supporting strip;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 5-5 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of a modified supporting strip andan inner lining stripin course of application to a panel edge;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 showing the heading assembled andcompletely applied to the panel.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view of a modified inner or lining stripapplied to a panel;

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 8, showing a further modified liningstrip;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a length of heading bent and twisted toshow the flexibility thereof, and

FIG. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary, sectional view showing a portion ofthe inner lining strip of FIG. 6.

The invention is embodied in the present instance in a headingcomprising a supporting strip shown detached in FIG. 2 and comprising aflexible resilient wire fabric or cloth 20 formed by a flexibleresilient wire strand 22 looped back and forth transversely of the stripto provide a series of longitudinally spaced cross strands 24. Crossstrands 24 are maintained in spaced relation with one another by one ormore lines 26 of thread loosely knitted through the strands, preferablyin the form of a chain or look stitching, serving to hold the crossstrands in a common plane, but permitting relative movement therebetweenas the beading may be bent and curved as hereafter described and shownin FIG. 10. A single line of such threads 26 may be applied adjacent theouter margins of the wire loops, or such lines of stitching may bemultiplied 3,091,821 Patented June 4, 1963 to cover more or even all ofthe length of the wire strands.

A wire fabric as shown in FIG. 2, is preferably laid on a length ofsuitable tape material 2d, FIG. 3, and the wire and tape material thenlaid on a strip of facing fabric or lace 30. A permanently flexibleadhesive 31, such as latex, is applied between the wire fabric and tapematerial and at 33 between the latter and facing fabric to secure thesame together and the marginal edges of the tape and facing fabric arewrapped around the margins of the wire fabric 20 as at 32, FIG. 4, theinturned margins being secured to the wire fabric and its stitching 26by applications of such adhesive. The inturned margins 32 of the facingfabric 30 are given a band 34 of such latex on which gritty particles ofsand, carborundum or the like may be sprinkled for a purpose hereafterdescribed.

The wire strand 22 of the supporting strip is a resilient flexible,medium soft wire, having a diameter of, say, 0.028 inch, soft enough forforming, but resilient enough to afford spring action, as wellunderstood in the The strands and covering materials are formed into thesubstantially oval or U-shape shown in FIG. 1, as by bending the middleportions thereof around a A inch rod, for example, depending of courseupon the thickness of the panel to be garnished. The inner sides of thewire strands 24 are preferably notched or cut to strike up sharp barbs25 pointed inwardly and toward the bottom of the strip oval, as shown.The side walls of the U-shaped form are inclined somewhat toward eachother (FIG. 1) being shown in a median degree of inclination, adaptingthem to be sprung apart suflicient-ly to enclose the edge of the panelto be finished, after which the spring tension of the wire fabric andthe barbs 25 produce a tight gripping of the panel sides. The latexbands 34, with or without the addition of gritty material, furtherassist in securely attaching the beading to a panel edge, and theflexibility of the heading adapts it to be applied to panelled edges ofvarying thickness, shape or curvature.

In a modified construction shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a heading 36 isemployed together with a substantially channel shaped liner 38' which isinserted therein and which supplies additional gripping attachment tothe panel 40. The outer or supporting frame 36 in this modificationcomprises resiliently flexible wire cross strands 42, as before, coveredby a facing strip 44. The inturned marginal edges of the facing stripmay have woven therewith in the edges thereof a longitudinally extendingstrand or cord 46, forming an abutment projecting somewhat inwardly fora purpose hereafter described.

The inner lining strip 38 is preferably formed of strands 48 looped backand forth transversely thereof as described above in connection with thesupporting strip and shown in lFIG. 2. Such strands may be made offlexible wire, or may be strands or cords of tightly twisted paper ofknown construction. Such strands are retained in longitudinally spacedrelation with one another by one or more lines of thread 50 interwoventherewith, as described above in connection with the supporting frame.Liner 38 preferably has a pair of longitudinal strips of rubber 52 ofgenerally triangular shape secured thereto by latex or other flexiblecement. Each of strips 52 is preferably backed with a strip of cloth 53(FIG. 11) which is of any known weave having a high resistance tolongitudinal stretching action. Backing cloths 53 are preferably securedto strips 52 and then strips '52 are cemented to the inner sides of themargins of the sidewalls of the liner, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.Although strips 52. exert a good gripping action on panel 40 when theheading is mounted, I found that the gripping action may be improvedeither by coating the inner facing surfaces of the strips with latex andthen applying the beading or by applying the above facing coating oflatex and 3 then adding a layer of gritty material such as thatdescribed earlier in connection with FIG. 4.

The liner 38 may be first partially applied to the panel 'edge andtheouter supporting strip then applied to embrace the liner and close itagainst the panel sides, as shown in FIG. 6, or the liner may be firstcompletely applied and the supporting strip thereafter applied over theliner, the supporting stri in either case pressing and holding therubber strips 52 of the liner in tight engagement with the panel, asshown in FIG. 7. A coating of latex is applied to the outer sides ofliner 38 and supporting strip 36 is then pressed home over the liner.

Abutment cords 46 not only engage the upper portion of the liner and arepressed inwardly thereagainst by the spring tension of strip 36 therebyadditionally securmg both the supporting strip and liner to the panel,but cords 46 aid in insuring proper alignment between the strip and theliner. That is, if the liner happens to be off-center on the panel, orif the liner is centered and strip 36 is pressed inwardly unevenly,strip 36 will tend to engage more of the liner on one side than on theother and in extreme cases, one edge of the liner may project beyond theedges of strip 36. However, abutment cords 46 eliminate the possibilityof improper alignment between liner 38, strip 36 and the panel, becauseif the liner is fibcenter on the panel or ifthe strip is started overthe liner in a cocked or twisted manner, one of cords 46 will engage theouter portion of the liner adjacent the strip of rubber 52 on that sideprior to the opposite cord engaging the corresponding portion on theopposite side of the liner. In the situation described above, the firstcord will stop the inward movement of the liner on that side and allowthe liner to move inwardly on the opposite side until the outer portionof the liner engages the stop cord on that side at which point theliner, the supporting strip and panel are substantially in line andfurther inward 'movement of strip 36 will cause the same to move evenlyover the liner to its position shown in FIG. 7.

It has been found beneficial to lay a head 54 of asphalt on the insideof the bottom of the supporting strip 36 in position to be engaged andflattened by the edge of the panel, so as to afford a flat seating ofthe beading on the panel and prevent contacts with the heading from anytendency to rock and loosen it on the panel. If the tape 28 is omitted,a strip of impervious material, preferably a plastic 56, such asvinylite, is preferably laid on the inside of the Wire fabric of thesupporting strip before the application of asphalt, to prevent it frompenetrating and disfiguring the facing fabric.

The inner liner may have other forms, such as a strip of flexible rubber58, with a restraining cloth backing 59, FIG. 8, adapted to be bent intochannel shape and 'to embrace the edge of the panel as explained abovein connection with the liner 38, the sides of this liner being givencoatings of latex to secure them to the channel sides and to thesupporting frame applied thereover. A further modification of the lineris shown in FIG. 9, in which a cloth strip is provided at its marginaledges with bands of latex 62 sprinkled with gritty material 64, if sodesired, for gripping engagement with the sides of the panel.

An inner liner, such as described has the advantage that it can bereadily engaged with the panel, notwithstanding interposed cement orgritty material, by wrapping it around the panel edge (FIG. 6) with aminimum 'of sliding friction with the side faces of the panel. Then theouter supporting frame may be readily slid over the liner, with aminimum of sliding friction and tendency to derange the parts.

A beading formed as described is extremely flexible, as shown in FIG.10, being readily bent in any direction or l d- I0 twisting as may berequired by panel edges of varying shape or curvature. The transversestrands of the outer supporting strip and of the liner, where a liner isemployed, are adapted to have movement toward and from one another,while held in line by the interwoven threads. The modified liners ofFIGS. 8 and 9 are made of yieldable materials and the facing strip,being a lace or other loosely woven fabric, is capable of correspondingflexure.

it is apparent from the above description that the invention provides abeading which is adapted to be readily applied and capable of adheringtenaciously to the edge of the panel to be finished. The construction issuch as to afford extreme flexibility for conforming the bead ing to thepanel edges of varying curvature. By predeterrnining the size of theheading and the spacing of its side walls, it may be given the correctspring tension for suitable gripping of the sides of panels of differentthickness, the side walls of a beading of any given size being capableof expansion or contraction to accommodate different panels and thusafford substantial adjustability. The construction is such, furthermore,as to produce a beading of more small and trim size, with thinner edgesand smoother surface, contributing to produce a pleasing appearance andfinish.

It will thus be seen that the invention accomplishes its objects andwhile it has been herein disclosed by reference to the details ofpreferred embodiments, it is to be understood that such disclosure isintended in an illustrative, rather than a limiting sense, as it iscontemplated that various modifications in the construction andarrangement of the parts will readily occur to those skilled in the art,within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

A flexible adherent heading for finishing structural edges of automobilebodies and the like comprising a supporting strip formed by a continuouslength of flexible resilient wire looped back and forth transversely ofthe strip to provide longitudinally spaced cross strands, flexibleretaining strands passed through said cross strands to retain the samein parallel relation in said strip, said supporting strip beingsubstantially U-shaped in cross section for closely conforming toandembracing said structural edges, pointed barbs struck up from said wirestrands on the inner sides of the side walls of said supporting stripand projecting inwardly and upwardly toward the bight of said U-shapedsupported strip for gripping said structural edges and immovablyretaining said beading thereon, a tape strip closely fitting andenclosing the outer surfaces of the side walls and bottom of saidsupporting strip and having marginal portions wrapped inwardly aroundthe marginal portions of said supporting strip and adhe-sively securedthereto and a flexible fabric facing strip closely fitting and enclosingsaid tape strip and having marginal portions wrapped inwardly around theinwardly wrapped margins thereof and adhesively secured thereto, withsaid barbs projecting therethrough.

Refereuces Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re.16,178 Randall Sept. 29, 1925 1,811,081 Hartwell June 23, 1931 2,026,971Greene Jan. 7, 1936 2,204,630 Spraragen June 518, 1940 2,216,105 BalfeOct. 1, 1940 2,549,581 Dodge Apr. 17, 1951 2,659,687 Moore Nov. 17, 19532,699,582 Sohlegel Jan. 18, 1955 2,794,757 Bright June 4, 1957 2,856,230Adel-l Oct. 14, 1958 2,954,310 Truesdell Sept. 27, 1960

